Newborn Wrapping: Newborn Legs In or Legs Out

    7th February, 2010 / Baby Wrap Tips / No Comments

    Newborn Legs In or Legs Out in a Wrap

    Wondering whether to wrap your newborn legs in or legs out?

    The real question of legs in/legs out is how best to support YOUR newborn in a comfortable and ergonomic way.

    Optimum newborn positioning includes:

    • pelvis tilted forward
    • knees higher than bottom
    • knees spread about as wide as baby’s pelvis

    So Should I Wrap My Newborn Legs In or Legs Out?

    You should wrap around baby in a position that your newborn’s legs are naturally inclined to rest in. You will find that baby will tuck knees up, not spread too far apart.

    Usually you can wrap around your newborn baby with legs out while maintaining this natural position.

    Baby does not need to be able to spread legs wide or straddle your torso.  In fact, newborn legs are so tiny that the length of thigh from bottom to knee fits in front of a mama’s tummy with only a slight spread.

    Wrapping a newborn with legs out is often more comfortable for baby.

    And with newborn legs out, you can view baby’s feet to monitor circulation.

    In the photos below you can see that Annabelle’s legs do not have to stretch around my waist or spread wide across my torso–she’s 6 weeks old in these pictures, and I’m wearing her low in the second picture because she’s been nursing in the front wrap cross carry.

    Newborn legs don't have to stradle your waist!

    Newborn legs don’t have to straddle your waist!

    When is it Good to Wrap Newborn with Legs In?

    Before 2010, it was most common (among US and European babywearers) to wrap a newborn baby with legs in – inside the wrap – in what was referred to as “froggy leg” position.

    Because of this, there are a lot of older photos, videos, and resources that show this style of legs-in newborn babywearing.

    There’s nothing wrong with wrapping a newborn with legs in the wrap – as long as you are doing safe positioning.

    So make sure baby’s knees are not spread too wide.

    Make sure baby’s weight is not on baby’s feet.

    Make sure baby’s feet are comfortably flexed.

    Sometimes newborns are very accustomed to being curled up.  And if that is what your baby’s body seems to want to do, go with it!

    Here’s an example of a newborn who was not uncurled enough to wrap with legs out, but whose little feet did stick out:

    Newborn Leg Positioning

    Learn more about how to wrap your newborn baby here!

    In conclusion, do what works best for you and your baby in terms of leg position.  Newborn legs in or legs out, either way is fine.

    Neobulle Newborn Rucksack

    1st February, 2010 / Baby Wrap Tips / 4 Comments

    I just used my 3.5 Neobulle Simon to put my five week old baby up in a high rucksack carry.  I love it!  The extra width of the Neobulle wrap made it real easy to get a good pocket under Annabelle, with plenty of width left to make a nice support behind her head.  I’m thinking this is a really easy wrap to do a newborn rucksack with, especially for less-experienced parents!

    The fact that the wide wrap is excellent for big kids to is a bonus–talk about one wrap for an entire childhood!

    My photographer (Ada, aged five years) took these photos showing Annabelle after we wrapped up, and after she fell asleep (8 minutes later).

    Neobulle Rucksack 9:25am

    Neobulle Rucksack 9:25am

    Neobulle Rucksack 9:33am

    Neobulle Rucksack 9:33am

    Since her head fell sideways instead of forward against my neck, I reached up with both hands to pull the top edge of the wrap higher behind her head and I did not have to retie anything:

    Pulling the top of the wrap up for head support

    Pulling the top of the wrap up for head support

    Sleeping and Supported, 5 weeks old

    Sleeping and Supported, 5 weeks old

    Nursing Upright in the Wrap

    1st February, 2010 / Baby Wrap Tips / No Comments
    4 weeks old, nursing in the FWCC

    4 weeks old, nursing in the FWCC

    Soon I tried nursing upright in the wrap because I prefer wearing babies in the upright position, and because this position allows the baby to change breasts without the wrap having to be retied, and it is also the perfect position for burping.

    I wrapped Annabelle upright, then lowered her down enough to put her mouth slightly higher than the level of my nipple.  Then I just needed to make sure the parts of the wrap coming around her head were the perfect tension to hold her head right there.  Then tie.  I like the front wrap cross carry best for this, and the front cross carry works great too.

    Nursing in the FCC, 1 week old

    Nursing in the FCC, 1 week old

    When nursing upright, Annabelle usually ends up slanted in a cradle/upright hybrid position.  If she is nursing on the right side, then the wrap coming over my right shoulder is more bunched up, coming from behind her head to over my shoulder where it’s bunched away from my neck and right at the ball of my shoulder.  The wrap going over the left shoulder is spread wide, covering Annabelle’s whole body and crossing the entire width of my shoulder to my neck.

    In fact, I’ve found that my upright nursing carries sometimes end up looking like a cradle carry, though that wasn’t how I put her in!  She won’t end up horizontal, but she does end up at various angles and rarely straight up and down.  This is how it has worked out for us and it highlights for me the versatility of wrapping and the fact that you don’t need to worry about duplicating a precise position, but finding something that works well, even if it looks unlike anyone else’s version of a wrap job.  So chill out, get your baby nursing and talk that wrap into holding baby in that position so you don’t have to!

    The trickiest part of nursing in a wrap, with both cradle and upright positions, is getting the wrap to hold the baby’s head just right so you don’t have to.  You have to realize that the wrap needs to do exactly the same job your hand or arm is doing when you hold the baby there, and the fabric certainly can be made to do that.  Just persist in tightening or loosening or adjusting until you get it.  A lot of adjusting can be done without taking your baby off the breast, and with your baby nursing, you may find you have uninterrupted time to get finicky with your wrap job!

    Annabelle Nursing, 1 week old

    Annabelle Nursing, 1 week old

    Newborn nursing in a wrap . . . cradle carry

    31st January, 2010 / Baby Wrap Tips / No Comments

    4 days old, Nursing in a HCC

    4 days old, Nursing in a Hip Cross Carry

    I began by nursing Annabelle in the cradle position.   With a newborn, I found that intuitively I used the wrap to hold her against me in the same position that my arms held her when we nursed on the couch: cradle.

    This was easier than I expected.  I recommend doing it sitting down and using a front cross carry, front wrap cross carry, or hip cross carry–whichever method you are most comfortable and familiar with.

    I’d begin wrapping around my baby, whom I held in the crook of my arm, then would latch her on before tightening and tying.  I did find that I almost always had to adjust it again once, sometimes right away, sometimes a few minutes later.

    1 week old, nursing FWCC

    1 week old, nursing FWCC

    It usually worked best if the cross that goes over the shoulder on the same side she’s nursing on is bunched up behind her head.  It can be spread across the baby’s body, but where it comes around baby’s head, bunching it behind provides a real sturdy support to hold the baby’s head at just the right angle.

    And my baby, anyway, doesn’t like having anything covering her head, she prefers the behind-the-head method!  You can see in the photo above that the wrap on my left side is going around and behind her head, rather than over it.

    I’d find that while nursing was essentially hands free in that I could remove my hands from the baby and still be nursing, it felt more comfortable if I kept one arm around her holding her on.  Luckily, it did not take long to observe that when I held her up with my arm, that made some slack in the wrap that, when tightened, replaced the function of my arm.  I just took the slack out while holding her, retied, and then my arm was redundant and I could put it to use on other projects–like actually getting myself a peanut butter sandwich!

    4 day old Annabelle Nursing

    4 day old Annabelle Nursing